Fire-helmet.



G. FABIAN.v PIRE HELMET. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 3, 1911.

.Patented Octfr'l, 1912.

FIRE-HELMET.

Specification of Letters ratent. y

.application mea January e, i911. serial no. ecosse.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, Geenen FAsIAN, a subject of the King of Great Britaln and lreland, residing at Bootle, in the county of Lancaster, England, have invented Improvements in or Relating to Fire-Helmets, ont which the following" is a specification.

the wearers body so as to some extent, prevent the person from becoming overheated by the radiated heat given od from the lire to be extinguished; and further, it may be,

to allow a portion of the air supply to cir-V culate in thehollow casingoll the helmet and then escape therefrom through holes in the crown thereof; while'the larger portion of the air supply shall pass betweenthe body of the wearer' and his body clothing, thus reducing the temperature to some extent which will allow the wearer to remain in action in a heated temperature for a long period. The air is discharged from'the inflatable coat between the liremans body and a belt that secures the coat around the Waist of a wearer rio.

and by adjustment ot'which the discharge of air is controlled as described, so that a lireman can maintain air in the coat at a slight pressure such as to lreep the coat inflated and form a heat insulating cushion between his body and the surrounding atmosphere.

i Reterrinof to the accom an ino drawin s Figures 'l and 2 are front and side elevations respectively of the improved helmet with 'the waterproof coat `attached thereto and in- 5liated as 'when in use by a fireman; and arrangement of air supply pipe `and life line oi." telephonie wire connections being shown in position. Figs. 3 and t ane sectional elevations of the helmet to av larger scale in lplanes at right angles to one another. Fig.

5 is a sectional plan corresponding to the line A, B of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a plan of the helmet. Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of the' swiveling 'end of the air supply pipe and Fig. 8 is a cross section corresponding to the line C. D of Fig. 7.

In the arrangement illustrated the helmet Patent-ed idiot. lo,

is slightly oval in plan and part spherical y in the crown and is provided with a suitable glass covered sight opening formed in the inner and outer casings as shown. The outer casing 'a is 'made of thin copper or other suitable material and within this there is fitted a similar but somewhat smaller casing l) also oi copper or other suitable material, the relative sizes being such that there is lelt an air space of varying width between the two walls which are connected` together at the open end or" the helmet as shown in Figs. 3 and l, the inner casing being externally flanged around its open end as shown so as to form. a slight projection.

c is a short air supply pipe branch arranged to turn in any required direction, one end of which passes to the interior of the helmet through an enlarged bush d permanently lixed to the outer and inner casings a and b respectively. The bush or lferrule Z is formed with a number of small holes Z1 (see Figs. 7 and 8) opening into the helmet Wall air space. The inwardly projecting end of the air pipe branch o passes freely through the ferrule d leaving a suitable air space between the two parts and is held in position by a screw nut c1 and :i jointing Washer 02 so as to swivel into any desired position and remain air tight. That portion of the branch c within the ferrule CZ is formed with air holes c3 to allow a portion of the air supplied to the helmet to escape and pass through similar holes (Z1 in' the 'ferrule (Z and circulate Within the air space formed between the outer and inner casings of the helmet as hereinbe'fore described. Some portion of this air escapes through a number of fine -perforations e formed in the crown of the outer casing a. The holes e are made very small so as not to admit any noxious gases or vapors to the 'fireman should the pressure of the air supply be reduced or be `accidentally stopped. The outer end of the air supply'pipe c is suitably formed for con- 4nectionA to the main air supply reservoir pipe 04 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and which passes under the arm of the wearer and is made ast by acord around the base ot the helmet.

Encircling the lower or open vend of the helmet which is slightly flanged outwardly is a band or packing belt of rubber or canvas al fixed thereto by a :suitable solution and onto which the neck portion of avvaterproof coat g is placed and firmly gripped to the helmet `by an encircling metalv clip band f, and a clamping bolt j assisted by say four small bolts 7c which pass through the clip band f, the strengthened collar of the coat g, also the packing a1 and casings a and b so as to insure a permanently fixed and air tight connection. The water-proof coat g is provided with slack fitting sleeves 10 for the arms of the wearer and having fleXible selfclosing cuffs at the wrists. The waterproof and air tight coat ismade in sack form to take slackly on the shoulders, chest and arms of the wearer andof'suitable length so that when a stra-p or belt Z is drawn tifghtly around the body the upper portieril o the coat will be p etically made air tight between it and-the isual clothing worn be-A tween such clothing and the body of the fireman wearing the helmet.

It will thus be understood that on air from a supply reservoir being admitted to the helmet it will cause the waterproof coat to become largely inflated thus forming'l an l air space through which the heat from a fire when in close quarters will but slightly affect the' temperature of the wearer and which will maintain a free breathin space around him. Themetal helmet whlch enextent kept cool by the air space or cavity formed between the outer casing a and the inner casing b.

In some cases, in lieu of the before mentioned very small holes e in the crown of self closing non-return valve closed by a light spiral spring weighted oradjusted so as to close when the air pressure in the helmet and waterproof casing falls .below the predetermined pressure.

The helmet, also a portion of the weight of the inflated coat, is carried or supported o na suitable cap or pad b1, which, rests on the firemans head but on being inflated this weight is reduced as will be understood, and on the waist belt Z being tightened on the dress the weight of the coat and helmet is practically vremoved from the head of the shoulders unencumbered and with ample air reservoir space around.

In some cases there may be emplo ed with this arrangement of fire helmet a te ephonic wire connection or cable m which enters or passes through the coat (/at m1 below the belt Z and extends suti'iciently inside the garment that the fireman can place a receiver frame or cage n on his head and to his ears and sling around his neck the transmitter or mouth piece p, before placing the helmet land inflatable coat in position over his body. The connecting wires p1 and tn.1 forming the wires ofthe cable m are within thefjacket as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. The

' air the crown of the helmet.

tirely surrounds the head is also to some the outer casing a there may be provided al wearer thus leavingthe head, neck andouter part of the cable mis preferably secured to the air supply pipe that' passes across the chest of the fireman and the two are secured in the usual manner around his neck as clearly shown. The telephonie cable m may be employed as the life line for the fireman. The transmitter or mouth piece is connectedwith the diaphragm thereof by a piece of rubber. or flexible tubing p2 for convenience of the operator.

'As a constant supply of fresh air is admitted, the partly breathed air escapes below the before mentioned 'waist encircling `@eelt Z .through the usual clothing of the fireman at practically -a lower temperature than the surrounding air thus to a great exent cooling his body when the apparatus is used when extinguishing res in closely confined spaces such as in a ships' hold or the like.l By regulating -the tightness of the belt a larger or less supply of air `is allowed to escape at will, also by thus regulating the ressure a reater or less amount of air is discharged t rough the small holes e in A 'form of freproof coat not shown is preferably worn over the waterproof coat to prevent damage thereto.

What I claim is:.-

1. In' protective apparel for use in the presence of-fre, smoke and noxious gases, a helmet 'comprising an inner casing and an outer casin .connected togetherat their lower ends an around a glazed sight hole formed therein, a tubular bush formed with perforations fixed in said helmet and extending from the outer casing to the inner.l casing thereof, and an air inlet branch mounted in said bush and communicating with the interior ofsaid helmet, said branch being formed with perforations adapted to supply air to the space between the casings of said helmet through the perforations of said bush. f

2. In protective apparel for use in the presence of fire, smoke and noxious gases, a helmet comprising an inner casing and an outer casing connected together at,v their lower ends and around a glazed sight hole formed therein, a tubular bush formed with p'erforations fixedvin said helmet and extend=. ing from the outer casing to the inner casing thereof, and an air inlet branch mounted to rotate in said bush and communicating with the interior of said helmet, said branch being formed with perforations adapted to supply air to the space between the casings of said helmet through the perforations of said bush. i

3. In a fire and smoke helmet an inner casing adapted to entirely but'freely inclose the head of a wearer, an outer casing sey much larger than said inner casing as to provide a space between the two said cassight hole and the said outer casing being formed with a small perforation at its up per vpart, means for connecting said casings together in an air tight manner at their lower ends and around the sight holes 0f said casings, a tubular bush formed with perforations and extending from the outer asing to the inner casing thereof, and an air inlet branch mounted in said bush and communicating with the interior of said inner casing, said branch being formed with perforations adapted to supply air to the space between said inner and outer Casings through the perforations of said bush.

ll. In protective apparel for use in the presence of lire, smoke and noxious gases, a lire and smoke helmet comprising an inner casing adapted to entirely but freely inclose the head. of a wearer,'an outer casing so much larger than said inner casing, as to provide a cooling space in which air circulates between the two said casings said Casngs being each formed With a sight hole and the said outer casing being formed with a small air escape perforation at its upper part, and means for connecting said casings together in an air tight manner at their lower ends and around the sight holes oit' said casings, means for supplying air to the interior of the said inner casing of said helmet, means for supplying air to the space between the said casings oit said helmet, a coat adapt-ed to t loosely upon a wearer and leave ample air space when inflated at a slightly higher pressure than the surrounding atmosphere, between the wearer and said coat said air space being in ilree communication with the interior of said helmet, 'and means under the control oi the wearer adapted to allow air to escape from said coat.

Signed at Tower Buildings, Water street, Liverpool, England, this ninth day of December, 1910.

GEURGE FABIAN.

Witnesses:

F. M. C. Sco'r'r,

H. VVILLIAMs 

